I’ve been playing role-play games for as long as I can remember. Like many I started with D&D, all the way back to the box set that came with the cheap plastic dice and the wax crayon to fill in the numbers so you could see them. I remember sitting in my back yard with a couple of friends and my brother trying to figure my way through the rules and describe what they were doing. Then we argued about it. In fact in the early days half of role-playing was the game and half was arguing about how the rules worked.
Over the years my tastes evolved and the arguments faded away. I tried a lot of different systems over the years: Palladium, Shadowrun, Paranoia, Legend of the Five Rings, and so many others. I’ve discovered over the years the ones I like the most are the games that make me think different. For example in Legend of the Five Rings you have to look at how an action will affect you and your family, and sometimes you have to ignore the sensible thing in order to save face. Like accepting the hospitality of the Scorpion clan knowing full good and well they will be spying on you and digging through your stuff when you’re not in your room.
When I started going to conventions these were the games I looked for. I loved playing anything that made me work my mind and try and think in new ways. If the game had a fantastic narrative so much the better. I loved playing anything that caught my imagination and introduced me to amazingly colorful characters. I find that my best interactions in a game are when I get to enjoy a character moment. I have had some fantastic ones over the years; my cleric of the God of trickery passed himself off as a priest of four different religions over the course of an adventure to convince various crowds in certain ways.
At one of these conventions I had some free time and I ran into a rather energetic gentleman named Brendan who was running a game he described as a cross between Dungeons & Dragons, professional wrestling, and the Running Man. Since I had some free time and I enjoyed a good quick dungeon crawl as much as the next guy I sat down.
For those of you who don’t know, a dungeon crawl is where you enter a room, kill all the monsters inside, take all the treasure, and repeat. There are different levels of difficulty and some dungeon crawls are more famous than others (Tomb of Horrors). Typically there’s some sort of big bad at the end of the dungeon with a big pile of loot to take and that’s the goal. Get the most treasure, kill the biggest monsters, and live to find another dungeon. On the surface that’s exactly what X-crawl is, in practice X-crawl is nothing like that.
I sat down with Brendan that first time in Columbus for the 1st annual Buckeye Crawl. The games started with a camera crew and an interview for the folks at home. We were informed the entire crawl was being broadcast on Empire 1’s pay-per-view to every family in the North American Empire. We then got to enter the dungeon proper, which involved going into the room 1 at a time down a zip line into a room with orcs in it. I was hooked. I bought the core rule book that weekend from Panda Head games. When I went to Gencon that year I actively sought out X-crawl.
Part of the reason I enjoy X-crawl is that over the top, oh my gods mentality. There’s something kind of awesome about jousting in go-carts, fighting a giant gummi-bear, or watching your teams barbarian “save” the princess by attacking her with an axe. That last one happened at a convention, and in a regular game of D&D or anything else, I’d have been ticked. In X-crawl it’s one more thing that happens. That’s the magic of X-crawl; people think differently when they play X-crawl. One of my go to examples of this is in one room in one X-crawl module there is a water elemental large enough to engulf people and it’s swimming with demonic piranha. In a traditional role-play game if I was to introduce this monstrosity people would not take it well. In X-crawl my players were excited this thing existed.
There’s a difference in the way people tell stories about X-Crawl. I’ve had those fun conversations where everyone starts talking about their 15th level so and so and how he figured out how he got the Holy Sword of such-n-such. I’m not saying these stories are bad; I have a few of them myself. It’s that they’re a bit dry and numbers based. Talking about X-crawl is like listening to guys talk about the last minute come from behind touchdown in the Superbowl.
I’ll give you an example. The Sons of Bacchus are in a timed room where a woman’s life hangs in the balance. There are a series of challenges to complete and in order to finish on time the team does the unthinkable; they split up. Working in two groups they start kicking in door and completing challenges. One half of the team kicks in a door to a challenge sponsored by a beer company. Fanfare erupts, confetti, lights, and the whole nine yards. The room contains a table and a frosted mug of beer for each party member; remember only half the team is there. All they have to do is each person present must grab a mug and chug it in one breath. The guys step up, grab their mugs, and complete the challenge with flying colors. They’ve succeeded the contest, won prize, and may continue on with their search. On their next turn they all grab the other half of the beers and down them as well, because while the seconds are ticking by and a woman’s life is on the line, “by the Gods, we will not leave a beer behind!” And that’s X-crawl.
While there is absolutely a level of silly to X-crawl, it’s tempered with a level of danger and challenge that makes people do things with their characters that are counter intuitive to traditional fantasy gaming. It’s oddly freeing in its way. There’s a certain joy with coming up with your characters personality because his background is pretty much the same as anyone who plays for the NBA, NASCAR, or the MLB. You’re not on an eight year quest to reclaim your families honor, you’re on a continuing quest to get as much fame and cash as possible so you can retire before you’re devoured by a Hell Poodle in the Paris Crawl run by DJ Fifi. The person running the dungeon isn’t an evil sociopath bent on killing you for the fun of it (actually they very well may be but that’s beside the point) they’re a game show host who you’ll be hanging out with at the after party.
This is X-crawl a game I thrilled is coming back, a game I’m excited to play again. A game I want to be around for years to come. If you like what you’ve read and think you might want to give it a try there’s a kickstarter campaign going on until July 21st. It’s already funded and worth a look. So until next time, “In the name of Apollo, I declare these games open. May the gods protect and guide you. But should they deem it always remember, if you die…YOU DIE!!!!!! The dungeon is yours.”
Check out the X-crawl Kickstarter here.
Check out there site over at Goodman Games here.
Let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
We are Comics
What I am about to talk about is a serious subject. This piece was in response to this weeks Talking Comics with Amy Dallen. I will to the best of my ability try to handle it in a serious manner. However, I know me, and I use humor as a shield so please forgive me if the occasional snide comment or witty remark slides through. These are not meant to lessen the importance of the subject matter or disregard or belittle those affected by it. And thus, we begin.
As far back as I can remember I have read comics. They were an escape for me, a place I could go to for solace and security in a world of bullies. I was picked on, made fun of, insulted, and physically attacked. My youth was marred by years of fear and pain. For many years, I hated people. As I grew, I found a place where I fit in; a place where I belong. And yet, I know that for as bad as my youth was, my pain and suffering is a drop in the bucket of some people out there.
For the purpose of full disclosure; I am a Caucasian male, I am large and physically imposing. Whether, I am threatening looking or scary, I could not say, I simply do not know. In my life I have had missteps and stumbles in my dealings with the opposite sex and in every case where I was found to be wrong I apologized and corrected my behavior. For any pain or suffering I have caused through my own inexperience. I will not go into any of the events where I have hurt someone, I will only say some have occurred and I am not proud of them.
With that said, the idea that someone has become so angered by another person having an opposing opinion to there’s that it makes rape threats a legitimate option hurts my soul. Comics are one of the most empowering hobbies in the world. They encourage nobility, inclusion, teamwork, decency, and sticking up for the little guy. How can someone be a fan of comic books and feel that this is the way you’re supposed to react to this?
How do you read Teen Titans and think, “I bet Tim Drake would threaten to rape them?” Superman and Batman disagree all the time and not once has one threatened to so much as injure the other. Yet for some reason, when I’m sitting back here in the real world and someone says something I disagree with about my favorite character I’m supposed to go there. How is this even an option?
I’ll give you an example of something that came up in my life recently. I just found a pod cast called Junk food Cinema hosted by Brian Salisbury and Robert Cargill. In one of the episodes they were talking about how amazing a movie called Rolling Thunder was. It is one of their favorite films. Because of hearing them I decided to watch the film. I didn’t like it. I posted on Twitter that I heard their pod cast and saw the movie but sadly was not a fan. That is where this story ends. Maybe if I’d been a woman it would have been different, but I don’t think so. The fact I don’t like the movie doesn’t affect their enjoyment of the film, and if you listen to the episode you‘ll know they fucking love this movie. The fact that they do like the movie doesn’t break my world at all.
Why is it then, that someone disagreeing about the cover of a comic book creates such a vicious response. I’ve been told it’s the anonymous internet fuckwad formula. Take equal parts: anger, anonymity, and juvenile sensibilities then stir in an equal amount of mob mentality and Ta-Dah. Maybe that’s true. I just can’t believe that we’ve not developed past this.
My hope is we’ll grow out of this rather quickly, however, I’ve just known people for too long to think they’ll change as quickly as I’d like. Though, what I think will help is things like We Are Comics. I love this showing of solidarity and decency. I am in love with this movement because my niece likes superheroes and I don’t want her to grow into a world where this is the sort behavior she’ll be exposed to. I love it because it’s a sane solution to an insane problem. I love it because it mends my soul, just a little bit.
I hope it works. I hope that this carries on and helps to turn the tide of the idea that women and girls and men and boys can’t love comics equally. It gives me hope because…
I’m Steve Mayne and I am comics, because heroes stand up for the little guy…
I'm sorry for venting on everyone but please let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
As far back as I can remember I have read comics. They were an escape for me, a place I could go to for solace and security in a world of bullies. I was picked on, made fun of, insulted, and physically attacked. My youth was marred by years of fear and pain. For many years, I hated people. As I grew, I found a place where I fit in; a place where I belong. And yet, I know that for as bad as my youth was, my pain and suffering is a drop in the bucket of some people out there.
For the purpose of full disclosure; I am a Caucasian male, I am large and physically imposing. Whether, I am threatening looking or scary, I could not say, I simply do not know. In my life I have had missteps and stumbles in my dealings with the opposite sex and in every case where I was found to be wrong I apologized and corrected my behavior. For any pain or suffering I have caused through my own inexperience. I will not go into any of the events where I have hurt someone, I will only say some have occurred and I am not proud of them.
With that said, the idea that someone has become so angered by another person having an opposing opinion to there’s that it makes rape threats a legitimate option hurts my soul. Comics are one of the most empowering hobbies in the world. They encourage nobility, inclusion, teamwork, decency, and sticking up for the little guy. How can someone be a fan of comic books and feel that this is the way you’re supposed to react to this?
How do you read Teen Titans and think, “I bet Tim Drake would threaten to rape them?” Superman and Batman disagree all the time and not once has one threatened to so much as injure the other. Yet for some reason, when I’m sitting back here in the real world and someone says something I disagree with about my favorite character I’m supposed to go there. How is this even an option?
I’ll give you an example of something that came up in my life recently. I just found a pod cast called Junk food Cinema hosted by Brian Salisbury and Robert Cargill. In one of the episodes they were talking about how amazing a movie called Rolling Thunder was. It is one of their favorite films. Because of hearing them I decided to watch the film. I didn’t like it. I posted on Twitter that I heard their pod cast and saw the movie but sadly was not a fan. That is where this story ends. Maybe if I’d been a woman it would have been different, but I don’t think so. The fact I don’t like the movie doesn’t affect their enjoyment of the film, and if you listen to the episode you‘ll know they fucking love this movie. The fact that they do like the movie doesn’t break my world at all.
Why is it then, that someone disagreeing about the cover of a comic book creates such a vicious response. I’ve been told it’s the anonymous internet fuckwad formula. Take equal parts: anger, anonymity, and juvenile sensibilities then stir in an equal amount of mob mentality and Ta-Dah. Maybe that’s true. I just can’t believe that we’ve not developed past this.
My hope is we’ll grow out of this rather quickly, however, I’ve just known people for too long to think they’ll change as quickly as I’d like. Though, what I think will help is things like We Are Comics. I love this showing of solidarity and decency. I am in love with this movement because my niece likes superheroes and I don’t want her to grow into a world where this is the sort behavior she’ll be exposed to. I love it because it’s a sane solution to an insane problem. I love it because it mends my soul, just a little bit.
I hope it works. I hope that this carries on and helps to turn the tide of the idea that women and girls and men and boys can’t love comics equally. It gives me hope because…
I’m Steve Mayne and I am comics, because heroes stand up for the little guy…
I'm sorry for venting on everyone but please let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Youth and Comics
I’ve been reading comic books for so long I don’t remember my first one anymore. I remember when I was a kid I didn’t have a lot of friends and I was bullied, comic books were the one place I could escape to. Comics were my escape into a better world where there was somebody looking out for the little guy. They were a place I could go to be happy.
Once a week my mother would drive my siblings and I to a mom & pop quick stop that closed so long ago I can no longer remember the name. I would scan the spinning wire rack by the door looking through twenty different titles to find my favorites. At the time I was reading The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The West Coast Avengers, and the brand new Secret Wars. I would read at least one of them on the ride home. I’d run into my room as soon as I got back leap on my bed and read the rest. I would share them with my brother and we’d talk about how cool the superheroes in the stories were.
Some of the other kids at school read comics as well; most of the popular titles when I was a kid were Spider-man, Batman, and Superman. I never enjoyed those books as a child because they were all so sad. The heroes in them complained about how hard it was to be a superhero and how they wished they weren’t burdened with it. My heroes had fun, they loved having superpowers; being able to hurl cars, fly through the sky, and fight bad guys, and they loved it. Not so much Bruce Banner, but he was hardly in the book and the Hulk was clearly having fun.
In my mind I always connected more with the Hulk than the others. I was a big kid and I got picked on by most of the kids at my school. I saw myself in the Hulk, who if they had just left him alone would have gone off and never bothered anyone. His book to me was always him off by himself not hurting anyone, usually in the middle of the desert, and then here comes the biggest bully there was, General Thunderbolt Ross. He’d show up with tanks and helicopters, dozens of soldiers and Special Forces, and they’d attack the Hulk. When I was a kid it looked to me like they were attacking him because he was different. I could relate to that.
Over the years my little mom & pop store closed and I found actual comic shops. What a revelation they were. I wasn’t alone anymore; here were people like me who were a little different, kind of quiet, and really geeky. They didn’t care that I was a little bigger than anyone else. They accepted me for who I was; one of them.
Since then I’ve gone through various books and stories, I’ve read the Mutant Massacre, the Contest of Champions, The Age of Apocalypse, and Kingdom Come and beyond. I’ve looked at books published by every company from Marvel to DC, from Image to Archie (who once teamed up with the Punisher and it was amazing). Some of the stores I’ve shopped at have closed and some have moved and grown. I now shop at two different stores and I’m happy to call them both a solace, my Fortress of Solidarity if you will.
This weekend is a celebration of comic books and the store that support them and the people who read them. This Saturday, May the third, is Free Comic Book Day. It’s a day where we celebrate the ever growing day of geekery that is superheroes and comic books. It’s a day to gather in celebration of a shared love. Mostly it’s a day to celebrate and support our local comic book stores. I’m thankful for the existence of The Bookery in Fairborn and Epic Loot in Miamisburg. I hope they know how much I appreciate them.
If there’s a comic shop near you, check them out this weekend maybe they’re doing something for free comic book day. If you’re curious if there is anything in your area then head over to the free comic book day website and look around. It’s a great day, and even if you’ve never read a comic book before, it’s worth a try. Hopefully you’ll find your Incredible Hulk.
Excelsior!
Check out more on free comic book day.
Let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
Once a week my mother would drive my siblings and I to a mom & pop quick stop that closed so long ago I can no longer remember the name. I would scan the spinning wire rack by the door looking through twenty different titles to find my favorites. At the time I was reading The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The West Coast Avengers, and the brand new Secret Wars. I would read at least one of them on the ride home. I’d run into my room as soon as I got back leap on my bed and read the rest. I would share them with my brother and we’d talk about how cool the superheroes in the stories were.
Some of the other kids at school read comics as well; most of the popular titles when I was a kid were Spider-man, Batman, and Superman. I never enjoyed those books as a child because they were all so sad. The heroes in them complained about how hard it was to be a superhero and how they wished they weren’t burdened with it. My heroes had fun, they loved having superpowers; being able to hurl cars, fly through the sky, and fight bad guys, and they loved it. Not so much Bruce Banner, but he was hardly in the book and the Hulk was clearly having fun.
In my mind I always connected more with the Hulk than the others. I was a big kid and I got picked on by most of the kids at my school. I saw myself in the Hulk, who if they had just left him alone would have gone off and never bothered anyone. His book to me was always him off by himself not hurting anyone, usually in the middle of the desert, and then here comes the biggest bully there was, General Thunderbolt Ross. He’d show up with tanks and helicopters, dozens of soldiers and Special Forces, and they’d attack the Hulk. When I was a kid it looked to me like they were attacking him because he was different. I could relate to that.
Over the years my little mom & pop store closed and I found actual comic shops. What a revelation they were. I wasn’t alone anymore; here were people like me who were a little different, kind of quiet, and really geeky. They didn’t care that I was a little bigger than anyone else. They accepted me for who I was; one of them.
Since then I’ve gone through various books and stories, I’ve read the Mutant Massacre, the Contest of Champions, The Age of Apocalypse, and Kingdom Come and beyond. I’ve looked at books published by every company from Marvel to DC, from Image to Archie (who once teamed up with the Punisher and it was amazing). Some of the stores I’ve shopped at have closed and some have moved and grown. I now shop at two different stores and I’m happy to call them both a solace, my Fortress of Solidarity if you will.
This weekend is a celebration of comic books and the store that support them and the people who read them. This Saturday, May the third, is Free Comic Book Day. It’s a day where we celebrate the ever growing day of geekery that is superheroes and comic books. It’s a day to gather in celebration of a shared love. Mostly it’s a day to celebrate and support our local comic book stores. I’m thankful for the existence of The Bookery in Fairborn and Epic Loot in Miamisburg. I hope they know how much I appreciate them.
If there’s a comic shop near you, check them out this weekend maybe they’re doing something for free comic book day. If you’re curious if there is anything in your area then head over to the free comic book day website and look around. It’s a great day, and even if you’ve never read a comic book before, it’s worth a try. Hopefully you’ll find your Incredible Hulk.
Excelsior!
Check out more on free comic book day.
Let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Angels & Demons on my Shoulders
This is a piece I wrote for school that I'm very proud of.
I am told I have an unusual view on Shakespeare’s plays; I think the majority of them are very pro-woman. I think Will has a high regard for women and shows this in most of his plays. Certainly some characters such as Ophelia are very much products of both the narrative and their time. It’s also entirely possible that my view of these plays all the way from the back row of 2014 is afforded me a view of things that just aren’t there. As such I can not argue with anyone that feels that Shakespeare feels women are weak and in need of saving. Since this is my paper, we’ll go with my theory and a feminist lens.
I think the way Shakespeare uses Othello to show women as the stronger of the sexes is through the plays primary device. Othello toys with the idea of when people are willing and able to do the right thing. The play itself is a series of people being given two choices, one right and one dubious. The trick of Othello is that every time a choice is offered, it’s packaged in a way that makes them look the other way around. The fun of it is asking the characters and the audience, can you tell what the right choice is?
That’s why this play works; the morale dilemmas start small. “Do you think you should tell her father? Why don’t you guys spend more time together, you’re old friends? Why are they spending some much time together?” Then the characters start down these paths of slowly escalating morale decisions until they’ve arrived at the top of a cliff and they have no idea how they got there. That’s when the big questions come. “She can’t possibly be happy; do you think you should save her from her marriage? Isn’t that your handkerchief? I think Desdemona is cheating on you, do you think you should do something about that?”
It’s these morale decisions and how they are handled the various characters that make it so a pro-woman narrative. Part of this is that I believe Shakespeare knew this was going to be viewed differently by men and women. A clue to this is that the only characters who make the morale choice every time are the women. They unfailingly make the morale choice even when it threatens their lives.
The second reason for this is Desdemona. She is the single most important aspect in this play. Arguably, without her nothing else in this play would happen. Everything hinges on the fact that she exists. It’s also notable that other than to her father at the very beginning of the play, I don’t remember anyone talking about her beauty. The characters of the play talk about a number of other aspects: charm, grace, cleverness, and caring. She is portrayed as a gentle and loving soul; it is assumed she is beautiful.
For all Desdemona’s importance she is also a very flat character with little development and is relegated to second or even third tier status. It should also be pointed out that the only characters who have developed personalities in the play are Othello, Iago, and Emilia, though to a lesser extent. As with Desdemona, Emilia always makes the right choice, she is also the only character that figures out Iago’s plot. She then reveals it knowing that he has made her an accomplice to it through lies and will most likely be put to death.
I think Shakespeare wrote this way on purpose. Partially it would be because he would have written this play for Queen Elizabeth. Some of the things I’ve read over the years would indicate she was very clever, the fact that she ruled England at a time when nobody thought she could sort of speaks to this. I think having been exposed to her Shakespeare would have realized this and counted on her picking up these little things.
I also think Shakespeare tended to write strong female characters knowing that women were going to see his plays he wanted to have something in them for that portion of the audience. That’s why he tends to write very strong female characters. Everyone from Juliette, who bucked the system and her family’s generations old feud to marry the man she loved, despite being overtly emotional and teenagerie. You follow her through to Kate who was not only the title character of her play, all be it an insulting title, depending on how you read the final speech in that play Kate wins.
I think Shakespeare knew the secret to being a popular playwright and entertainer and that was to include things in your work for both men and women. That way both groups would want to come see his plays, which we have proven today in movie theaters that when you can accomplish that you will do better. It’s why every superhero movie has a love interest crammed into it whether it makes sense or not.
Shakespeare wrote his plays with characters for the men to root for and ones for the women to root for. At the end of every play the men won, unless you were able to look at the play through a slightly tilted angle. I think Shakespeare relied on women to be able to tilt just enough.
These are the reasons I think Shakespeare wrote the way he did. Not only in Othello but in all of his plays Shakespeare has a tradition of strong women. Look at “Twelfth Night” where the lead character of Viola pretends to be a man, holds a job, inadvertently steals a woman from the Duke, and wins a duel. After which the Duke learns that his servant and best friend with whom he drinks, fences, and gambles is woman. His reaction to this is to immediately marry her. If that isn’t Will saying women are just as strong, capable, and cunning as us and when you find one that con go toe to toe with you, marry her; then I don’t know what is.
Let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
I am told I have an unusual view on Shakespeare’s plays; I think the majority of them are very pro-woman. I think Will has a high regard for women and shows this in most of his plays. Certainly some characters such as Ophelia are very much products of both the narrative and their time. It’s also entirely possible that my view of these plays all the way from the back row of 2014 is afforded me a view of things that just aren’t there. As such I can not argue with anyone that feels that Shakespeare feels women are weak and in need of saving. Since this is my paper, we’ll go with my theory and a feminist lens.
I think the way Shakespeare uses Othello to show women as the stronger of the sexes is through the plays primary device. Othello toys with the idea of when people are willing and able to do the right thing. The play itself is a series of people being given two choices, one right and one dubious. The trick of Othello is that every time a choice is offered, it’s packaged in a way that makes them look the other way around. The fun of it is asking the characters and the audience, can you tell what the right choice is?
That’s why this play works; the morale dilemmas start small. “Do you think you should tell her father? Why don’t you guys spend more time together, you’re old friends? Why are they spending some much time together?” Then the characters start down these paths of slowly escalating morale decisions until they’ve arrived at the top of a cliff and they have no idea how they got there. That’s when the big questions come. “She can’t possibly be happy; do you think you should save her from her marriage? Isn’t that your handkerchief? I think Desdemona is cheating on you, do you think you should do something about that?”
It’s these morale decisions and how they are handled the various characters that make it so a pro-woman narrative. Part of this is that I believe Shakespeare knew this was going to be viewed differently by men and women. A clue to this is that the only characters who make the morale choice every time are the women. They unfailingly make the morale choice even when it threatens their lives.
The second reason for this is Desdemona. She is the single most important aspect in this play. Arguably, without her nothing else in this play would happen. Everything hinges on the fact that she exists. It’s also notable that other than to her father at the very beginning of the play, I don’t remember anyone talking about her beauty. The characters of the play talk about a number of other aspects: charm, grace, cleverness, and caring. She is portrayed as a gentle and loving soul; it is assumed she is beautiful.
For all Desdemona’s importance she is also a very flat character with little development and is relegated to second or even third tier status. It should also be pointed out that the only characters who have developed personalities in the play are Othello, Iago, and Emilia, though to a lesser extent. As with Desdemona, Emilia always makes the right choice, she is also the only character that figures out Iago’s plot. She then reveals it knowing that he has made her an accomplice to it through lies and will most likely be put to death.
I think Shakespeare wrote this way on purpose. Partially it would be because he would have written this play for Queen Elizabeth. Some of the things I’ve read over the years would indicate she was very clever, the fact that she ruled England at a time when nobody thought she could sort of speaks to this. I think having been exposed to her Shakespeare would have realized this and counted on her picking up these little things.
I also think Shakespeare tended to write strong female characters knowing that women were going to see his plays he wanted to have something in them for that portion of the audience. That’s why he tends to write very strong female characters. Everyone from Juliette, who bucked the system and her family’s generations old feud to marry the man she loved, despite being overtly emotional and teenagerie. You follow her through to Kate who was not only the title character of her play, all be it an insulting title, depending on how you read the final speech in that play Kate wins.
I think Shakespeare knew the secret to being a popular playwright and entertainer and that was to include things in your work for both men and women. That way both groups would want to come see his plays, which we have proven today in movie theaters that when you can accomplish that you will do better. It’s why every superhero movie has a love interest crammed into it whether it makes sense or not.
Shakespeare wrote his plays with characters for the men to root for and ones for the women to root for. At the end of every play the men won, unless you were able to look at the play through a slightly tilted angle. I think Shakespeare relied on women to be able to tilt just enough.
These are the reasons I think Shakespeare wrote the way he did. Not only in Othello but in all of his plays Shakespeare has a tradition of strong women. Look at “Twelfth Night” where the lead character of Viola pretends to be a man, holds a job, inadvertently steals a woman from the Duke, and wins a duel. After which the Duke learns that his servant and best friend with whom he drinks, fences, and gambles is woman. His reaction to this is to immediately marry her. If that isn’t Will saying women are just as strong, capable, and cunning as us and when you find one that con go toe to toe with you, marry her; then I don’t know what is.
Let me know what you think. Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look at my Youtube.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
The Walk Home
*A quick note*
I wrote this story set in the world of Malifaux, a tabletop miniatures game I enjoy. While I don't believe being familiar with the world of Malifaux is necessary to enjoy the story you may miss out on a few of the references and hints about the end of the tale. To give you the basics, Malifaux is a mixing of Victorian, western, Wuxia, Lovecraftian, steampunk, fantasy, horror. It takes place on a parallel world in the late 1890's.
This story takes place between the fourth rule book and the fifth in the Malifaux timeline. In other words between Avatars and the Ten Thunders. for those of you wondering where this happens at.
And thus we begin...
She loved her fancy new pink dress. It cascaded down to the floor in layers separated by glossy white lace and when she twirled in front of the mirror it billowed like a balloon. She wobbled for a moment, unsteady on the new heels she just gotten, knee-high boots of white leather that laced all the way up the front. Heels just like all the other girls; no, the other ladies wore. She looked in the mirror one last time and again spotted the speck of red on the hem, from when the nice dressmaker had been poked. It was small though and she just knew it would come out eventually. She smiled to her mirror self and they giggled together.
She smiled down at the dressmaker, he had been a wonderful craftsman, and his love of the work really showed in the small details. She smoothed down her dress one last time and gathered the long thin handbag, called a clutch, made for holding things she might need like a fan, bits of hard candy, or possibly makeup like the lip covering the pretty women in the saloons wore. She turned and walked from the shop and into the dark Malifaux night.
The street lamps had been lit in an ever failing attempt to keep the darkness and its inhabitants at bay. She looked past the street lamps and watched the starts shimmer against the darkened sky. She walked off alongside the cobblestone street listening to the clop, clop, clop of her new boots on the sidewalk. Even though it was late there were still a few people walking about at night. A young couple walked along holding hands, gruff union members wandered from saloon to saloon, a few walked alone, and for a brief moment she thought she saw a little boy in a night dress skipping up an alleyway.
She heard the bells from a nearby clock tower ring out the hour and she counted each hit. “Nine. Ten. Eleven. I am running late.” She started to walk away with a little more purpose in her strides; she had somewhere to be. She waited a moment for a coach to pass and then moved quickly across the street. Her hurry and her new heels got the better of her and as she stepped up on the walk she misjudged the height and caught her toes. With a quick cry of surprise she fell forward and into the arms of a passing young man.
“I got you.”
She smiled up at him, “Thank you for catching me.” She allowed him to help her right herself. She leaned against him for a moment, “I got these fine new shoes and I’m just absolutely clumsy in them.”
“Are you all right Miss?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking.” She placed her hand on his forearm and thought she could be a few minutes late. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t you be embarrassed Miss, some of those shoes are right impossible to walk in.” His smile it reached his blue eyes and curled his mouth just enough to show off his teeth. He was young too, maybe a hair past twenty. He detached himself slightly to reach down and pick up a new looking Stetson, that was quite out of place with his fine suit and tie. He dusted it off taking care to get it back into a good shape.
“My, what a fine looking hat.”
“Thank you miss, it was a gift from a marshal friend of mine.”
“A marshal,” she caught her breath and fanned herself with her hand, “not a Death Marshal? Are you with the Guild?”
“Yes miss. I am.”
“Are you a Death Marshal as well?”
“No. Nothing quite that exciting. I’m a doctor and a dentist, occasionally a veterinarian. I don’t even know how to use a gun.” he looked around them for a moment and then looked back to her, “I don’t mean to be forward miss, but are you by yourself?”
“Yes, I had some business at a shop up the road, and it took a bit longer than anticipated.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow this. It’s just not safe for a young lady to be out at night by herself in this city.”
“I don’t have very far to go. Just a few blocks.”
“I would feel better if you allowed me to escort you.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“I apologize, you are quite correct.” He reached up and removed his hat, “my name is Malcolm, and you are?”
She began to speak and suddenly jumped, pressing up against him, “what was that?” She looked off down the street, her eyes scanning the now empty darkness.
Malcolm followed her gaze, stepping forward to be in front of her just slightly. “I don’t see anything.”
“Maybe I should let you walk me.”
“Where to?”
“Mrs. Downey’s Orphanage, over on fifth street.”
“I know the way, I live near Mrs. Downey‘s. We should be there in two shakes.” He began walking with her, moving to place himself between her and the street. After a few blocks he began speaking again, “Do you live there?”
“No, I’m meeting my…someone.”
“I see.”
“Oh, nothing like that. It’s my, well, she wants me to call her mother, but I haven’t felt particularly maternal towards her in a while.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. My mothers Earthside back in Boston. I miss her terribly, but we write. I may go home for a visit next month for the holidays.”
“I’ve never been to Boston. Is it nice?”
“It’s amazing. I love it. Malifaux reminds me of it a bit. The streets and architecture are similar, none of the monsters though, and seafood. Amazing seafood, other than my family, I miss it the most.” He stared off into the night ahead for a long moment.
“It sounds wonderful. Maybe I’ll go someday.”
“You should come up to Boston. I mean go. I mean…I’m sorry, that sounded just…”
She placed her arm through his, “It’s okay, I know what you meant.”
Malcolm smiled at her and patted her hand where it rested in the crook of his elbow. They walked along like that for a few more minutes until she started to turn down an alley. Malcolm pulled up short and tugged her back towards him. “We should keep walking.”
“But the orphanage is right on the other side of this alley.”
“This time of night, those aren’t safe. If we head up two more blocks and cross over we’ll be back this way in no time.”
“That’ll take too long and I’m already late. I go this way all the time.”
“Maybe during the day, but right now there could be anything down that alley. I get a lot of people on my table that walk down alleys at night; it isn’t safe.”
“You’re being silly.” She tugged on his arm, slightly more forcefully than was necessary.
“No. We need to walk around.”
She let go of his hand and half stepped into the alley.
A new voice, gruff and dirty, hissed from the darkness, “You should have listened to the fine young man.” The loud click of a hammer being set on a gun echoed off the walls.
She turned too quickly to face the alley and stumbled on her heels. Malcolm moved forward, stopping her fall and stepping in front of her before she had completely gotten her self righted. “Stay behind me,” he whispered to her.
“That’s lovely. It’s nice to see a good solid lad. I took up a young couple just the other day and he pushed her into me and run off. Gives me hope to see a man put himself between me and his fine young lady.”
“What do you want?” Malcolm’s voice was steady and measured.
The voice let out a dust chocked cough. “Any script you got on you, maybe some jewelry.”
Malcolm reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. The shadowy figure moved forward enough to present a vague shadow, the glint of metal coming from his hand. Malcolm tossed the bills underhand and the shadow caught them. “That’s a fine watch you got there.”
Malcolm took a moment to undo his pocket watch and toss it into the alley as well. “And now ma’am, I’ll be having your purse.”
“I don’t have anything in it; it’s new.”
“Please ma’am. Every young girl keeps a little something in her purse.”
Malcolm whispered over his shoulder, “Don’t anger him.”
She opened the purse and began to reach her hand inside. “I’m telling you there’s nothing in here you want.”
The voice stepped fully into the light revealing a grubby unwashed moth eaten suit, mismatched shoes, and a greasy black bowler resting on a nest of oily black hair. “Give me that.” He snatched forward and grabbed at the purse his fingers closing on her hand. Malcolm moved forward quickly, and punched the man knocking him backwards into the alley. His hand still gripping hers he pulled her with him into the darkness. There was a sharp bang from the gun, and the muzzle flash illuminated the alley for a brief second.
Candy lunged forward and a flash of silver broke the shadows as she pulled the long silver scissors from her purse and stabbed into the voice’s stomach. He staggered backwards, and raised the gun to defend him. She moved forward and took the weapon from him tossing it down the alley.
She stood there for a long moment being sure to hold the hem of her dress up to keep any more blood from getting on it; she would not make that mistake again. The gunman slowly fell to his knees, the crimson trickle pooling around him his life slowly ebbed away. She smiled and cleaned her scissors on the man’s jacket.
Candy walked to the mouth of the alley and looked at Malcolm lying on the cobblestones. His blue eyes were devoid of the twinkle they had held just a few minutes before. He now stared blankly at the stars above them. The pool of blood spread from his chest where the bullet had struck him.
Candy stared at his face for a long time unsure what to do. Finally she said, “thank you,” without really knowing why.
end
The Character of Candy is a creation of Wyrd Miniatures.
I hope you enjoyed the story. If you're interested in more on Malifaux you can read my review of the second edition rules here. Or if you'd like to see more about the world and you can check out Wyrd Miniatures website here. Let me know what you thought of the story, by leaving a comment or heading over to facebook and mentioning it there. You can also find me on Twitter @stevemayne2.
I wrote this story set in the world of Malifaux, a tabletop miniatures game I enjoy. While I don't believe being familiar with the world of Malifaux is necessary to enjoy the story you may miss out on a few of the references and hints about the end of the tale. To give you the basics, Malifaux is a mixing of Victorian, western, Wuxia, Lovecraftian, steampunk, fantasy, horror. It takes place on a parallel world in the late 1890's.
This story takes place between the fourth rule book and the fifth in the Malifaux timeline. In other words between Avatars and the Ten Thunders. for those of you wondering where this happens at.
And thus we begin...
She loved her fancy new pink dress. It cascaded down to the floor in layers separated by glossy white lace and when she twirled in front of the mirror it billowed like a balloon. She wobbled for a moment, unsteady on the new heels she just gotten, knee-high boots of white leather that laced all the way up the front. Heels just like all the other girls; no, the other ladies wore. She looked in the mirror one last time and again spotted the speck of red on the hem, from when the nice dressmaker had been poked. It was small though and she just knew it would come out eventually. She smiled to her mirror self and they giggled together.
She smiled down at the dressmaker, he had been a wonderful craftsman, and his love of the work really showed in the small details. She smoothed down her dress one last time and gathered the long thin handbag, called a clutch, made for holding things she might need like a fan, bits of hard candy, or possibly makeup like the lip covering the pretty women in the saloons wore. She turned and walked from the shop and into the dark Malifaux night.
The street lamps had been lit in an ever failing attempt to keep the darkness and its inhabitants at bay. She looked past the street lamps and watched the starts shimmer against the darkened sky. She walked off alongside the cobblestone street listening to the clop, clop, clop of her new boots on the sidewalk. Even though it was late there were still a few people walking about at night. A young couple walked along holding hands, gruff union members wandered from saloon to saloon, a few walked alone, and for a brief moment she thought she saw a little boy in a night dress skipping up an alleyway.
She heard the bells from a nearby clock tower ring out the hour and she counted each hit. “Nine. Ten. Eleven. I am running late.” She started to walk away with a little more purpose in her strides; she had somewhere to be. She waited a moment for a coach to pass and then moved quickly across the street. Her hurry and her new heels got the better of her and as she stepped up on the walk she misjudged the height and caught her toes. With a quick cry of surprise she fell forward and into the arms of a passing young man.
“I got you.”
She smiled up at him, “Thank you for catching me.” She allowed him to help her right herself. She leaned against him for a moment, “I got these fine new shoes and I’m just absolutely clumsy in them.”
“Are you all right Miss?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking.” She placed her hand on his forearm and thought she could be a few minutes late. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t you be embarrassed Miss, some of those shoes are right impossible to walk in.” His smile it reached his blue eyes and curled his mouth just enough to show off his teeth. He was young too, maybe a hair past twenty. He detached himself slightly to reach down and pick up a new looking Stetson, that was quite out of place with his fine suit and tie. He dusted it off taking care to get it back into a good shape.
“My, what a fine looking hat.”
“Thank you miss, it was a gift from a marshal friend of mine.”
“A marshal,” she caught her breath and fanned herself with her hand, “not a Death Marshal? Are you with the Guild?”
“Yes miss. I am.”
“Are you a Death Marshal as well?”
“No. Nothing quite that exciting. I’m a doctor and a dentist, occasionally a veterinarian. I don’t even know how to use a gun.” he looked around them for a moment and then looked back to her, “I don’t mean to be forward miss, but are you by yourself?”
“Yes, I had some business at a shop up the road, and it took a bit longer than anticipated.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow this. It’s just not safe for a young lady to be out at night by herself in this city.”
“I don’t have very far to go. Just a few blocks.”
“I would feel better if you allowed me to escort you.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“I apologize, you are quite correct.” He reached up and removed his hat, “my name is Malcolm, and you are?”
She began to speak and suddenly jumped, pressing up against him, “what was that?” She looked off down the street, her eyes scanning the now empty darkness.
Malcolm followed her gaze, stepping forward to be in front of her just slightly. “I don’t see anything.”
“Maybe I should let you walk me.”
“Where to?”
“Mrs. Downey’s Orphanage, over on fifth street.”
“I know the way, I live near Mrs. Downey‘s. We should be there in two shakes.” He began walking with her, moving to place himself between her and the street. After a few blocks he began speaking again, “Do you live there?”
“No, I’m meeting my…someone.”
“I see.”
“Oh, nothing like that. It’s my, well, she wants me to call her mother, but I haven’t felt particularly maternal towards her in a while.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. My mothers Earthside back in Boston. I miss her terribly, but we write. I may go home for a visit next month for the holidays.”
“I’ve never been to Boston. Is it nice?”
“It’s amazing. I love it. Malifaux reminds me of it a bit. The streets and architecture are similar, none of the monsters though, and seafood. Amazing seafood, other than my family, I miss it the most.” He stared off into the night ahead for a long moment.
“It sounds wonderful. Maybe I’ll go someday.”
“You should come up to Boston. I mean go. I mean…I’m sorry, that sounded just…”
She placed her arm through his, “It’s okay, I know what you meant.”
Malcolm smiled at her and patted her hand where it rested in the crook of his elbow. They walked along like that for a few more minutes until she started to turn down an alley. Malcolm pulled up short and tugged her back towards him. “We should keep walking.”
“But the orphanage is right on the other side of this alley.”
“This time of night, those aren’t safe. If we head up two more blocks and cross over we’ll be back this way in no time.”
“That’ll take too long and I’m already late. I go this way all the time.”
“Maybe during the day, but right now there could be anything down that alley. I get a lot of people on my table that walk down alleys at night; it isn’t safe.”
“You’re being silly.” She tugged on his arm, slightly more forcefully than was necessary.
“No. We need to walk around.”
She let go of his hand and half stepped into the alley.
A new voice, gruff and dirty, hissed from the darkness, “You should have listened to the fine young man.” The loud click of a hammer being set on a gun echoed off the walls.
She turned too quickly to face the alley and stumbled on her heels. Malcolm moved forward, stopping her fall and stepping in front of her before she had completely gotten her self righted. “Stay behind me,” he whispered to her.
“That’s lovely. It’s nice to see a good solid lad. I took up a young couple just the other day and he pushed her into me and run off. Gives me hope to see a man put himself between me and his fine young lady.”
“What do you want?” Malcolm’s voice was steady and measured.
The voice let out a dust chocked cough. “Any script you got on you, maybe some jewelry.”
Malcolm reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. The shadowy figure moved forward enough to present a vague shadow, the glint of metal coming from his hand. Malcolm tossed the bills underhand and the shadow caught them. “That’s a fine watch you got there.”
Malcolm took a moment to undo his pocket watch and toss it into the alley as well. “And now ma’am, I’ll be having your purse.”
“I don’t have anything in it; it’s new.”
“Please ma’am. Every young girl keeps a little something in her purse.”
Malcolm whispered over his shoulder, “Don’t anger him.”
She opened the purse and began to reach her hand inside. “I’m telling you there’s nothing in here you want.”
The voice stepped fully into the light revealing a grubby unwashed moth eaten suit, mismatched shoes, and a greasy black bowler resting on a nest of oily black hair. “Give me that.” He snatched forward and grabbed at the purse his fingers closing on her hand. Malcolm moved forward quickly, and punched the man knocking him backwards into the alley. His hand still gripping hers he pulled her with him into the darkness. There was a sharp bang from the gun, and the muzzle flash illuminated the alley for a brief second.
Candy lunged forward and a flash of silver broke the shadows as she pulled the long silver scissors from her purse and stabbed into the voice’s stomach. He staggered backwards, and raised the gun to defend him. She moved forward and took the weapon from him tossing it down the alley.
She stood there for a long moment being sure to hold the hem of her dress up to keep any more blood from getting on it; she would not make that mistake again. The gunman slowly fell to his knees, the crimson trickle pooling around him his life slowly ebbed away. She smiled and cleaned her scissors on the man’s jacket.
Candy walked to the mouth of the alley and looked at Malcolm lying on the cobblestones. His blue eyes were devoid of the twinkle they had held just a few minutes before. He now stared blankly at the stars above them. The pool of blood spread from his chest where the bullet had struck him.
Candy stared at his face for a long time unsure what to do. Finally she said, “thank you,” without really knowing why.
end
The Character of Candy is a creation of Wyrd Miniatures.
I hope you enjoyed the story. If you're interested in more on Malifaux you can read my review of the second edition rules here. Or if you'd like to see more about the world and you can check out Wyrd Miniatures website here. Let me know what you thought of the story, by leaving a comment or heading over to facebook and mentioning it there. You can also find me on Twitter @stevemayne2.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Table Top Day
April fifth and the second International Tabletop Day approaches like an appropriately chosen board game pun on endings. Last year to all accounts went well, certainly good enough to have a second go. For myself, I participated last year; I invited folks to my house and played some games and had a great day. I’m also getting ready for this year and I thought I should jot down some thoughts on exactly what I think Tabletop Day is.
I think I should give some history on the event before I get too far in. On April 12th back in 2012 Wil Wheaton gathered some of his friends together, went on to a brand new Youtube channel created by Felicia Day (Geek & Sundry), and created a show called Table Top. Actually, he created the show before that; the date given above is just when the first episode aired. The show was an unlikely success. I remember starting the first episode thinking it was going to be a train wreck, it was only a half hour long and I completely expected to shut it down no more than ten minutes in. When I finished the episode because of how enjoyable and engaging it was, I was as shocked as anyone.
The show went on to become a huge hit; the first episode is sitting at nearly 1.5 million views. With the shows success there was a decision made at some level I’m not aware of to dedicate an entire day to gathering with friends and gaming. Tabletop Day is about being social and having a good time with friends. To put it in their words…
“International TableTop Day is a celebration for all the fans of tabletop gaming. A single day where the whole world is brought together in a common purpose of spending time together and having fun.”
We could leave it right there, it perfectly defines the day and what it’s for. However, I think their description is wrong about one point. They say it’s for fans of tabletop gaming and to be fair it is however I think it’s bigger than that. While it’s certainly a day that fans of tabletop gaming whether board games, miniature games, or card games are going to have an immediate appreciation for. I think we need to expand this to people who don’t really know this applies to them.
To me, the reason Tabletop Day is important is that it more than any other holiday has only one reason for being; to get together with friends and family and be social. We have holidays year round that bring people together around a table and be with one another. However, every one of the other holidays has a built in reason for why it exists, be it religious, patriotic, or emotional; you have an expectation of what you need to do on those days. Whether its open presents, have a cookout, find colored eggs, or buy your significant other something romantic; you have a built in responsibility for every other holiday.
Tabletop Day has one requirement, get together with people and do something fun. If you think about that it’s kind of amazing. I think it’s also especially important in this day and age when people are so very busy. When was the last time most us had were able to just be with people we liked without forging a block of time. We always think we’ll have time later but then we never really do; that later never actually shows up.
Tabletop Day is later. It’s that point where we now have a day that we can all point to and say this is the day I’m going to spend time with my family and friends. This is later; this is when I’m going to make the time. Yes, it’s an arbitrary day, there’s no special significance with April 5th, at least none that I’m aware of, your mileage may vary. Why not April 5th, why can’t that be the day you sit down with your kids, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, or dorm mates and play poker, Candyland, Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, or Last Night on Earth. Do a puzzle, make a scrapbook, or build a model airplane. Just so long as you can sit at a table, have fun, and hold a conversation.
That’s why this day is important. That’s why it has to be around a table. As weird a statement as this is to make, you can’t be doing something active, because it’s fairly impossible to have a conversation during a game of hockey. I want people to have a good time anyway they want, I also feel people should go outside and be active, lord knows I need to do it more often, but it’s nearly impossible to have a conversation under those circumstances. To me the conversation is the important part of Tabletop Day.
People should have conversations. We need to talk more. Maybe I’m wrong, it’s possible, and won’t be the first or last time. I want to reconnect, I want to talk to people, and I want to have fun doing it. That’s why I think Tabletop Day is important, because when was the last time we really talked to each other.
This April 5th, get together with people you love, sit down, and pull out that dusty copy of Scrabble. Have a good day; a fun day. Just have a conversation with people you like. Hell, even if you have to play basketball so you can sit down afterwards for beer and wings to do it.
Let me know what you think. Are you planning on doing anything this TableTop Day? If it's passed, did you do anything? What did you play? Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look my on Youtube.
I think I should give some history on the event before I get too far in. On April 12th back in 2012 Wil Wheaton gathered some of his friends together, went on to a brand new Youtube channel created by Felicia Day (Geek & Sundry), and created a show called Table Top. Actually, he created the show before that; the date given above is just when the first episode aired. The show was an unlikely success. I remember starting the first episode thinking it was going to be a train wreck, it was only a half hour long and I completely expected to shut it down no more than ten minutes in. When I finished the episode because of how enjoyable and engaging it was, I was as shocked as anyone.
The show went on to become a huge hit; the first episode is sitting at nearly 1.5 million views. With the shows success there was a decision made at some level I’m not aware of to dedicate an entire day to gathering with friends and gaming. Tabletop Day is about being social and having a good time with friends. To put it in their words…
“International TableTop Day is a celebration for all the fans of tabletop gaming. A single day where the whole world is brought together in a common purpose of spending time together and having fun.”
We could leave it right there, it perfectly defines the day and what it’s for. However, I think their description is wrong about one point. They say it’s for fans of tabletop gaming and to be fair it is however I think it’s bigger than that. While it’s certainly a day that fans of tabletop gaming whether board games, miniature games, or card games are going to have an immediate appreciation for. I think we need to expand this to people who don’t really know this applies to them.
To me, the reason Tabletop Day is important is that it more than any other holiday has only one reason for being; to get together with friends and family and be social. We have holidays year round that bring people together around a table and be with one another. However, every one of the other holidays has a built in reason for why it exists, be it religious, patriotic, or emotional; you have an expectation of what you need to do on those days. Whether its open presents, have a cookout, find colored eggs, or buy your significant other something romantic; you have a built in responsibility for every other holiday.
Tabletop Day has one requirement, get together with people and do something fun. If you think about that it’s kind of amazing. I think it’s also especially important in this day and age when people are so very busy. When was the last time most us had were able to just be with people we liked without forging a block of time. We always think we’ll have time later but then we never really do; that later never actually shows up.
Tabletop Day is later. It’s that point where we now have a day that we can all point to and say this is the day I’m going to spend time with my family and friends. This is later; this is when I’m going to make the time. Yes, it’s an arbitrary day, there’s no special significance with April 5th, at least none that I’m aware of, your mileage may vary. Why not April 5th, why can’t that be the day you sit down with your kids, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, or dorm mates and play poker, Candyland, Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, or Last Night on Earth. Do a puzzle, make a scrapbook, or build a model airplane. Just so long as you can sit at a table, have fun, and hold a conversation.
That’s why this day is important. That’s why it has to be around a table. As weird a statement as this is to make, you can’t be doing something active, because it’s fairly impossible to have a conversation during a game of hockey. I want people to have a good time anyway they want, I also feel people should go outside and be active, lord knows I need to do it more often, but it’s nearly impossible to have a conversation under those circumstances. To me the conversation is the important part of Tabletop Day.
People should have conversations. We need to talk more. Maybe I’m wrong, it’s possible, and won’t be the first or last time. I want to reconnect, I want to talk to people, and I want to have fun doing it. That’s why I think Tabletop Day is important, because when was the last time we really talked to each other.
This April 5th, get together with people you love, sit down, and pull out that dusty copy of Scrabble. Have a good day; a fun day. Just have a conversation with people you like. Hell, even if you have to play basketball so you can sit down afterwards for beer and wings to do it.
Let me know what you think. Are you planning on doing anything this TableTop Day? If it's passed, did you do anything? What did you play? Post below or head over to my Facebook page and leave a message there. You can also follow me on Twitter @stevemayne2. Also feel free to look my on Youtube.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
The Continuing Adventures of J P Nussbaum 21
This is the latest installment of the J.P. Nussbaum adventures, if you'd like to check them out from the beginning head here.
Jeeves has set us on a path to safety. The cold weather has restricted our movements too greatly, we’ve been unable to get to far from our previous location quickly and as a result it’s been too easy to track our movements. We learned this when we went to the dark net and saw all the information on us. The list of our locations and possible hiding places has been frighteningly accurate.
Because of all of this Jeeves arranged for us to travel some. We boarded a private jet with unmarked wings and have set down in a much warmer climate. He should be difficult for anyone to follow us since we’ve taken such a drastic jump.
I’m both excited and afraid, I’ve seen how much money they’ve begun to offer for our location and yet I still can’t seem to shake the joy of being outside the U.S. for the first time.
As always, whoever you are, I ask you a favor; please tell my family I love them. Tell them I’m sorry.
I just received this message; I was so excited to receive it I decide to post it right away.
To Stephen Mayne,
I have returned. I apologize for the lull in communication and would like to assure you that we are all fine. I can’t be certain of just how long you haven’t received anything from me. First, we were trapped in a jungle and I was dealing with a spotty signal, so I can’t be certain you have any of those messages. After that we were chased by an army of mad men through the jungle in response to a slight side trip we took. Then a few weeks ago my radio was shot out of my hands by some local freedom fighters who mistook us for some of the men holding this area under their thumb.
Christina was able to convince the freedom fighters that we were ok, apparently she knew one of their members from the three months she spent working with the Peace Corps. After a few days of negotiations we were recruited to the cause. It’s been a busy few days since then. We’ve liberated three villages and a diamond mine. We took back a small section of jungle and then as a last moment thrust destroyed a mercenary base that was being used to oppress the area.
While going through the bases computers we found some information on the group that’s been after us. While the computers were useful they had taken some excessive damage in the initial fire fight. We have a few more things to do here before we go. Until then, I hope to be in more regular contact.
Your friend
J.P. Nussbaum
Let me know what you think, I'm always interested in the opinions of the reader, good or bad. You can either leave a comment below or on facebook. You can also follow me on twitter.
Jeeves has set us on a path to safety. The cold weather has restricted our movements too greatly, we’ve been unable to get to far from our previous location quickly and as a result it’s been too easy to track our movements. We learned this when we went to the dark net and saw all the information on us. The list of our locations and possible hiding places has been frighteningly accurate.
Because of all of this Jeeves arranged for us to travel some. We boarded a private jet with unmarked wings and have set down in a much warmer climate. He should be difficult for anyone to follow us since we’ve taken such a drastic jump.
I’m both excited and afraid, I’ve seen how much money they’ve begun to offer for our location and yet I still can’t seem to shake the joy of being outside the U.S. for the first time.
As always, whoever you are, I ask you a favor; please tell my family I love them. Tell them I’m sorry.
I just received this message; I was so excited to receive it I decide to post it right away.
To Stephen Mayne,
I have returned. I apologize for the lull in communication and would like to assure you that we are all fine. I can’t be certain of just how long you haven’t received anything from me. First, we were trapped in a jungle and I was dealing with a spotty signal, so I can’t be certain you have any of those messages. After that we were chased by an army of mad men through the jungle in response to a slight side trip we took. Then a few weeks ago my radio was shot out of my hands by some local freedom fighters who mistook us for some of the men holding this area under their thumb.
Christina was able to convince the freedom fighters that we were ok, apparently she knew one of their members from the three months she spent working with the Peace Corps. After a few days of negotiations we were recruited to the cause. It’s been a busy few days since then. We’ve liberated three villages and a diamond mine. We took back a small section of jungle and then as a last moment thrust destroyed a mercenary base that was being used to oppress the area.
While going through the bases computers we found some information on the group that’s been after us. While the computers were useful they had taken some excessive damage in the initial fire fight. We have a few more things to do here before we go. Until then, I hope to be in more regular contact.
Your friend
J.P. Nussbaum
Let me know what you think, I'm always interested in the opinions of the reader, good or bad. You can either leave a comment below or on facebook. You can also follow me on twitter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)